It's impossible to even try to write about my silly little life today when the anniversary of September 11th hangs over the day. I feel compelled to review the memorial pictures and articles out of respect for everyone who lost their lives in such a terrifying way and all their families and friends who still mourn their passings. My apologies if you decide not to read the rest of this, but I feel the need to write something.
I remember the day so clearly and once I heard the radio announcement, barely awake and ready to jump in the shower to start my morning, I ran to the tv to see the first plane protruding out of the north tower, already engulfing the upper floors in flames. Everyone still thinking it an accident and glued to the screen, we all then watched the second plane shortly thereafter fly into the south tower and the realization hit everyone at the same time that this was no accident at all.
I was numb - as was everyone I ran into. A world-wide shock had set in and just getting thru the trivialness of each day, especially that first one, seemed wrong - like there should've been more we could've done, but we weren't there. I could only feel helpless and small, besides being grateful that my friends who lived there were all ok.
A couple of weeks ago, I happened to come across A&E's version of Flight 93, watched the whole thing feeling my heart break over and over and then unable to wrench myself away, sat thru their docudrama, The Anatomy of September 11th detailing those horrible 102 minutes from beginning to end of the attacks on the World Trade Center. These are the things that I learned:
* The buildings were a feat of design and architecture for the time they were built - each floor a full acre in size with very few support beams in the middle. Unfortunately, with nothing in its way to slow the fire down, it contributed to how quickly each floor was engulfed in flames.
* Each building was actually designed to withstand hurricane winds, earthquake, and believe it or not, a plane - however, only a 707, which was the largest plane made then, from what I understand, and one only going standard to slow speeds - not the extreme speeds kept by the terrorists to do as much damage as possible. Flight 93 alone was going in excess of 600 knots - enough to effectively break the plane apart.
* The main reason the terrorists chose transatlantic flights was because each one carried 10,000 gallons of fuel.
* When usually each steel plate between floors would've been covered in some other type of protective casing, they decided on a cheaper way and went with fire-retardent foam, which could easily come off with any jarring and had been in process of being replaced, many parts still needing covered. With the planes hitting so hard and so fast, most of the retardant was knocked off leaving the steel vulnerable to flames.
* The first plane severed the main water line that fed the sprinkler system within the north tower rendering it completely useless other than making the stairs used for escape routes extremely slippery and dangerous.
* People in the south tower tried to evacuate their building before the second plane hit, but security and rescue instructed them to go back to their offices as debris was falling from the first tower and could endanger them. This was standard procedure. One group of 12 people decided to listen tho one of them was hesitant. At the urging of his co-workers, he got back in the elevator to head back somewhere beyond the 90th floor. His co-workers didn't survive and he only did due to the courage of another civilian hearing his cry for help and carrying him out of his burning office.
* The fire and police in New York traditionally have a difficult time working together - this was no exception - not that they didn't work together, but the lack of communication contributed to many a casualty. Fire communication was old and hadn't been updated. It didn't work everywhere in the towers so many of them did not receive the warning that the first tower looked as tho it could collapse and to evacuate immediately 30 minutes before it actually did. Shockingly, the police and fire departments also don't share the same communication frequency so information that one department received wasn't heard by the other. Some police tried to warn the firemen they ran into, but they were ignored. When fire rescurers ran into the second building, not only did they not know the first tower was collapsing, but had no idea their building was in danger of that as well.
* It took 8 seconds - only eight - for each tower to collapse. Take time to register just how little that really is.
* Cantor Fitzgerald L.P, in the first tower occupying the top 101st thru 105th floors, lost 658 employees alone - about two-thirds of its workforce.
* There was a third building - a federal records building - and knock yourself out about conspiracy theories on that one - that also collapsed and is rarely discussed.
* 2,749 death certificates were filed relating to the WTC attacks as of February 2005. 13 people died after the disaster, from injuries received on September 11th. The average age of victims was 39.
Again I send what thoughts and prayers I can to those who are still struggling with loss due to this awful day.
May we all be lucky enough to recognize what beauty there still is in the world while we're here to appreciate it. And while you're at it - maybe tell everyone you know how much you care about them. Just because.
** Update ** I've disabled comments on this post cuz some people obviously can't appreciate a kind word directed to one moment in time without criticizing me for not including all the suffering from all the event's repercussions since then. I just want to say all the casualties affect me and not that I owe anyone an apology for what I choose to pay tribute to, but if I were to mourn every life lost due to our government's insincere dealings with other countries, I would never stop crying. And honestly, I have a lot more compassion than most people I know who've chosen to put this event and the war itself as far behind them as they can. I acknowledge it's there, it's awful, too many lives are lost every single day and I acknowledge it disgusts me.
I also choose to look forward, I choose to see power in peace, I choose to see the good things in the world and appreciate them more than I focus on the negative. I only wanted to memorialize this event for myself and my readers - in my way. It's not necessarily the right way or the perfect way - it's just how I knew to write about it.
I have no qualms whatsoever about rejecting negative comments. This site has no place for them. If you have anything other than a complimentary view or positive feedback, please find another place to vent your diatribe cuz I'm not interested.
